By Maggie Kelly
DNAinfo Staff
QUEENS - John Conza, owner of Ralph's Italian Ices, has the scoop on the old headquarters of mafia boss John Gott.
Ralph's Italian Ices, an unassuming building at 98-04 101st Ave. in Ozone Park was once the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club — the spot where Gotti and his confederates once plotted.
It is now Ralph's Italian Ices, a bright, tidy space with white and steel cabinets and blue and white checkered floors. But Conza saved traces of the building's history, he said in an interview with Street Smart Video, which is documenting the second lives of former mob hangouts.
The building's renovation retained the original bathroom that Gotti put in himself, Conza said. In the cavernous basement where Gotti and his crew used to hang out, the folded-up card table they used is still there.
The building has three separate entrances, Conza reported, saying that Gotti and his associates used to hold "numerous conversations" just outside, pacing back and forth on the sidewalk.
"Come down here," Conza said, "and get a little piece of history. I'll even give you a $2 tour of the bathroom."
